Film and Television
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Cult Movie of the Week: Shaft in Africa
I will start with the disclaimer: I am not really a blaxploitation film lover. I’m a lover of their funky romps-of-soundtracks. That said, I dig Shaft in Africa despite its more reserved soundtrack. Why? It’s titled Shaft…..in Africa! Not only Africa, but, specifically, Ethiopia… a country that holds a lot of romance for me because…
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Cult Movie of the Week: Jacksons an American Dream
Yeah, I said it. Angela Bassett, Terence Howard, dude from Welcome Back, Kotter Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, etc., in the story of Gary, Indiana’s most famous sons (and daughters). I recently pulled out my (second) dub of this. It’s a textbook cult classic: lines you can’t forget, larger than life characters… and untouchably-dope music. Since I couldn’t…
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The Warriors: Cult Movie of the Week
Coke bottles clanging together, the sound ringing down a dark, wet alley. A voice calls out menacingly: “Warriors…. Come out and Play-yay…..” The Warriors (1979) is many things. It is a classical Epic tale (like Homer’s Odyssey). It is a pulpy cult classic with a look all its own (co-starring the New York Transit System…
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Monkey Hustlin’ in Chicago
Monkey Hustle is a blaxploitation film shot in Chicago in the 70s (a rarity, in that regard), around the same time as Cooley High. Mainly shot around 63rd Street, East of the Dan Ryan (the Woodlawn Neighborhood), and various West Side locations, the city figures prominently in the overall vibe of the film. Starring in…
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Killer of Sheep: Cult Movie of the Week
“Killer of Sheep caught the lives of the children with a fidelity to how kids really do fight, play, and cry — and how they can sometimes be cruel simply because they’re so scared.” — ROGER EBERT “If Killer of Sheep were an Italian film from 1953, we would have every scene memorized.” — MICHAEL…
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We the People (Who are Darker than Blue)
Curtis Mayfield performing “We the People” and “Gimme Your Love”, plus archival tape of folks vibin’ in various Chicago parks back-in-the-day. From the classic film “Save the Children” (1972). The film chronicled PUSH Expo ’72 (at the International Amphitheatre** in Chicago), touted as the biggest gathering of black business in history. When black power was…
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Coffee and Cigarettes
I’ve never smoked, but that song made me believe in the common luxury of both. Remember when, if visiting someone’s house, the cupboards may have been bare…but they’d still offer you some coffee (even instant).
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Teddy (1971)
(runtime 00:16:16) Produced by the University of California at Los Angeles, Extension Media Center, and Directed by Richard Wells. This is a beautifully raw short film shot in 1971. The opening scene portrays kids, fresh out of high school, but already short on hope. The public domain film presents the first-person experiences of a black…
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Black Girl: Cult Movie of the Week
(1966, Directed by Sembene Ousmane) If you are unfamiliar with this movie, or Black Francophone film in general, change that…now. Black Girl is the story of a beautiful Senegalese nanny named Diouana (played by Thérèse Mbissine Diop, see above), who joins Robert Fontaine (Monsieur) and Anne-Marie Jelinek (Madame) on their trip to the French Riviera,…
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